Knowing Darkness
by manyissues101
Summary: -PreKH, character death- Cloud blinked, hard, trying the old theory of ‘if you can’t see it, it’s not there’.


Cloud blinked, hard, trying the old theory of if you can't see it, it's not there

Cloud blinked, hard, trying the old theory of 'if you can't see it, it's not there'. All around him things were falling in shambles, people were falling on their faces never to get up again, and everyone near was screaming. He was just standing in the middle of the chaos, young, but old enough to have the sense to run, ignoring his better judgment.

Cloud didn't want to be afraid of the dark.

But it was circling around him, threatening to snuff out everything he'd ever known. And yet he stood, still, because he wouldn't leave without them. His friends would know where to go even if he didn't, and they'd show him the way.

Right?

There were two lumps on the ground, bodies that he knew when they were more than just bodies. His mother and father lay beside him, unable to tell him how to keep himself safe because they so desperately failed at it themselves. Cloud nudged his father with his foot, afraid of touching the body and finding it cold.

"Dad? Are you awake?"

He didn't expect an answer, nor did he receive one. His mother didn't respond either.

Cloud looked down at them, remembering how un-cool it was to show affection to one's parents…

He left them both with a big kiss on the forehead and thought that maybe, at this point, little things didn't matter.

0--0

"Cloud! Cloud! Over here!" Squall was jumping up and down, waving one arm. Next to him was Rinoa, peeking out from behind his other limb. She gave him a little smile and wave.

Cloud hurried over to them, glad to finally see familiar, living faces. They were on the outskirts of Radiant Garden, tucked into an alcove in a broken stonewall. It had probably busted during the three days of fighting that took place before the creatures broke into the city. They'd come from the castle, or somewhere close, and all feared that their beloved leader, Ansem the Wise, had departed for better things.

Cloud ran beside his friends, momentarily dropping his act and wrapping his arms around them. No twelve-year-old would, in his right mind, embrace a male friend in public, but even Squall didn't seem to mind. He just hugged Cloud right back, and Rinoa joined in.

"Where is everyone?"

"The guys…I don't think they're coming."

Cloud didn't look at them. "Then what do we do?"

"We should find the girls," Squall suggested. Cloud nodded. Tifa and Aerith were still nowhere to be seen, along with Yuffie. Even though she was younger, and not a big part of their group, no one was willing to leave her behind.

Squall made Rinoa promise that she'd stay in the recess until they came back for her, and she gave a pinkie-spit promise, so they knew she was serious. And so, Cloud and Squall, despite the danger, went back into town, thinking that they were untouchable.

0--0

The sun was beginning to set, and it made a blood red streak across the sky. Things would get worse in the dark. Everyone knew it but no one would voice it. People were hiding in the strangest of places, but anything to get away from the onslaught. Those things were beginning to grow restless searching for more people. The few that were left whole held their breaths.

Squall and Cloud ran into the town, looking everywhere for the girls. Yuffie and Aerith would be easy to spot, bright colors against gray walls, but Tifa not as much. That's when Cloud spotted the pink draped across the ground. He ran over to her, his eyes threatening to betray him. It was Aerith, but it couldn't be Aerith, because this kind of thing wasn't supposed to be happening. His parents were one thing, but his friends, too? Cloud wanted to cry.

Squall was solemnly standing over them. Cloud reached a hand towards her body but pulled away. He tried again with no luck. Finally, with a gulp, he reached towards her and laid a hand on her sallow cheek. She began to turn black.

Cloud gasped and jumped backwards. A huge hole was swallowing Aerith and she was melting into it until there was nothing but living ebony. Out of the blotchy hole came one of the dark things, its big yellow eyes locked onto Cloud's. All coolness abandoned, he and Squall screamed and ran until, through sheer luck and adrenaline, they lost it.

They leaned against something (an old building perhaps?) and caught their breath. The main part of the town was a ways back, but they could see the holes forming and the bodies disappearing. The creatures were multiplying, getting stronger, and weren't going to give up.

But, armed with the naivety of children, Squall and Cloud decided that they wouldn't leave without Tifa and Yuffie. They began to whisper their names because it was growing dark and soon they would be able to see anything. And by then it'd be too late.

0--0

Tifa was hiding in the wreckage of her house. Or at least that's what Yuffie told them had happened. Tifa wasn't there anymore, her body already taken, and a new creature spawned. Yuffie sure was happy to see them and suggested that they get out as fast as they could. How that would work was anyone's guess, but pessimism wasn't the most useful trait in the given times.

They slipped quietly through the town, sure to avoid any sign of the creatures or the bodies of people. They'd look back and wonder how they'd made it to the city limits intact. There was a familiar, welcome face there. Cid, a trusted employee of Ansem the Wise (though no one knew what he did) saw them and hissed for them to come. They ran to him, each boy clutching one of Yuffie's hands.

"I can get us outta here, kids. Just leave it ta Cid."

There was some sort of contraption next to him, like a rocket, but not as cool. He told them to climb aboard, but they refused to leave Rinoa behind. Cid tried to grab them, but the three friends slipped from his grasp. And began to run to where they'd left a terrified Rinoa.

She was still terrified, and now especially, because the darklings were closing in on her. Cloud screamed her name and she glanced up. "Run!" Yuffie urged. Rinoa took the advice and surged to the left in an attempt to feint her way around them. Her gambit seemed to work, for there were three on her heels, but she was still alive enough to run. When she was close enough they also began to run for their lives, trusting Rinoa follow right after them. Cid was still waiting for them in the ship, urging them to run faster and faster.

One after another they boarded. The creatures had formed a giant wave, an arroyo of black and yellow. Squall was in, then Cloud, then Yuffie…

Rinoa, her hand reaching out for Cid's poised one, tripped.

The abyss swallowed her.

They were screaming her name, screaming because they had to save her, but Cid said that there was no time. He closed the hatchet and all of the sudden the contrivance began to hover. With a heavy groan the ship was in the air, shooting up into the night sky.

The rest of the trip…a blur. But Cloud remembers screaming.

0FIN0

A request for a friend of mine. She wanted something where Aerith and Tifa die and Cloud lives.

I know that Rinoa wasn't actually in KH, but work with me here. I'm not the first to do it.

Very macabre, but I guess that comes with the prompt.

So please review, if you aren't too scared by me already.

Have a request? Send it in! It can be for any fandom I've written for, which can be checked on my profile.


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